Science Girls! - a hybrid RPG in Ren'Py

[Spiky Caterpillar]

I tried to stop them.

I put menacing boss monsters in the way of their escape.

But they got out of the school.

I tried to block their way with mountains.

But they found their way through.

I tried to confuse them with strange devices.

But they figured out how to use them.

And they escaped. They did it. They have won the game.

It's released! And you can get it from http://www.hanakogames.com/science.shtml .

(And thank you to everyone who helped with playtesting and encouragement - and most of all to PyTom, for writing a great engine that actually stood up to the insane demands I was placing on it.)

[usul]

Promote it on Happypenguin.org (among other places). I wish you the best of luck with this game, it looks like it was a *lot* of work.

I'd dl it soon, just need to finish a few things before it's time to play

[jack_norton]

Congrats on the release. Already sent my newsletter with it

[lepapillonrouge]

>D Ooh, it looks fun.

Hey, no guys?! XD

[rioka]

lol Who knows? One of them might be a bishie and you just couldn't tell! ;D

Congrats on the release!

[Aashtarsrain]

Downloading NOW !

[gekiganwing]

Two odd things I noticed about Science Girls:

1. This game doesn't take place anywhere near Japan. So why do the girls say "Arigato" when they're healed?

2. Right at the beginning, we see some teachers outside. They look nothing like the science club girls. This seems like an awkward art shift...

[papillon]

New version out with lower difficulty levels, so anyone who found the original a bit frustrating - or doesn't feel confident with RPGs and doesn't want the stress of losing - is invited to try the new build and see what you think.

[chronoluminaire]

Wow, this is very impressive. The Ren'Py usage, the customisation - but also the RPG. It has all the elements you could hope for - customisable level-up points, previews of the precise stats how things would look levelled-up, the flashing indicator when you've got points to spend, the different specials per character... I'm very impressed. And have just ordered a copy! (It's gone midnight, so I won't be playing it tonight... but soon. )

[KimiYoriBaka]

Once again, i can tell I'm in the last battle when the game actually becomes difficult.

I just wish it didn't steal my chem loli right beforehand. grrr... Chive mind was rather clever, but it seemed somewhat out of the blue. I didn't understand how the plant on the bridge ended up in our world.

wish it were longer.

[papillon]

Spoilers for final battle:

It steals different characters depending on your choices earlier in the game, so the final battle can play out differently depending. Final vs Heather can be rough!

As for why there's a Chive Mind here, it's not the same one from the bridge on the alien world. When the possessed character is talking, she explains (vaguely) that when you shut the portal (the first time, by breaking it) the aliens at the school were cut off, and some of them responded by banding together to create a gestalt which would be more powerful than any of them on their own.

Anyway, I'm sure Spiky Caterpillar can be talked into writing another adventure if sales go well.

[KimiYoriBaka]

Spoilers for final battle:

It steals different characters depending on your choices earlier in the game, so the final battle can play out differently depending. Final vs Heather can be rough!

Actually, that doesn't sound any worse than against chem loli, seeing as chem loli had the grenades. I'm just glad I didn't have to face Nicole. Especially since my tactic against chive mind was just to lvl 3 big bang twice.

[chronoluminaire]

Awesome game!

I love the humour and little easter eggs. (The Nethack screen, monsters like the literal Fruit Bat and Grassy Gnoll, and some lines like "Why did we have to burn the rope?")

Also the name of the final boss was hilarious.

Andrea being stolen wasn't very scary, though, since she only got one Acid Strip attack in before running out of SP. But since it was Andrea who got stolen for me as well, does this mean that everyone else finds her as irritating as I did?

Pretty much all the other girls were great fun though.

I was just a little disappointed that the characters' relationships didn't seem to be influenced by the decisions I made... I'd been hoping that all the times I carefully chose which girl should give the healing item to which girl would make a difference. I guess the thing you referenced in the spoiler above is the only difference that makes?

Also, when you explore the tunnel system and

find the Legume seeds

, does that make any difference?

The one moment I found frustrating was when I was wandering around the map looking to return to the Treeman, and couldn't remember where on earth (or not) it was now the force lines were gone... I found myself thinking "Yeah, this game needs a map or something". And then the girls promptly made me feel rather embarrassed by reminding me there was a compass thingy I'd completely forgotten about...

I agree that the final battle was the only one that was actually hard (playing on Standard). 2 of my 3 total KOs happened in that battle. The game was actually made quite a lot easier once I discovered Phalanxes, which I think are the one aspect of the battle system the game doesn't explicitly tell you about.

I also loved how the different girls' preferences

actually have game relevance with the healing items

.

All in all, a contender for the most satisfying and well-designed hybrid Ren'Py game I've seen, and one of the best RPGs I've seen for how well done the combat system is. Thanks!

[KimiYoriBaka]

The game was actually made quite a lot easier once I discovered Phalanxes, which I think are the one aspect of the battle system the game doesn't explicitly tell you about.

Actually, it did. It just didn't call it phalanx. It mentions them getting a bonus, but doesn't tell how much. Also, I tried playing standard, and got bored after like three floors. I'm very glad it had a hard setting.

I'm curious, what level should the girls normally be to beat the last boss? I had the main character at 15, nicole at 14, and the rest at 13.

[Spiky Caterpillar]

I'm curious, what level should the girls normally be to beat the last boss? I had the main character at 15, nicole at 14, and the rest at 13.

I'm not sure (as the developer, I'm incapable of judging difficulty properly) - most people seem to report average character levels between 10 and 13 by the time they get to the Chive Mind.